Time to Register
If you are a U14 or younger, you'll need to register for the Sundown Ski Team, CYSL (www.cysl.org) and Tri-state (www.tristateskiracing.org), and USSA (www.ussa.org). If you are U16 or older, you don't need to register for CYSL.

Season pass discounts are only available through the end of October, so get 'em now!

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a large component of success. Watch any successful person - athletes, actors, political leaders - and they all talk about having goals. Goals are far more than dreams. Goals are concrete - they have a date, they have a plan, etc. In this short series, Zig Ziglar talks about the importance of goals and how to perform goal setting.

Exercise!!!

Are you working out? It's widely known that athletes who are in the best physical shape are the fastest. That's why Ted, Julia, Lindsey, and all the other USST stars are busting their chops right now to prepare for next year. You don't need the resources of One Victory Lane to become stronger, faster, and more flexible. You can (and should) participate in another sport. You should also commit to a formal exercise plan over the summer - maybe form a group through Facebook and support each other to work out 5 or 6 days a week.

Your local gym can offer training via classes; many offer summer rates for students. If you'd rather work out at home, try P90X or Insanity ($120 each). Or, there's a web channel called "The Gym Box" (see http://www.thegymbox.com/) which costs $10/month. You can view this on a Samsung blue ray or TV with smart hub, or a Boxee or similar device, or on your PC.

The bottom line - find a way to make fitness a habit over the summer. Come next December, you'll be ripped and glad that you did.

World Cup Video

Most kids learn visually, so there's nothing better than watching world cup races. Unfortunately, Universal Sports will no longer be a free channel, so your cable system may not offer it after Jan 1. Fear not. World Cup video is "broadcast" via Universal Sports. You can go to http://http://www.universalsports.com/ , click on alpine skiing, and look for the world cup seasonal package.

Early weight transfer

There is a great video on the Center of Excellence channel showing Michael Ankeny and early weight transfer. Milchael gradually steps onto his up hill ski, starting about two-thirds through the turn. Moving your weight from the outside ski to the inside ski late in the turn helps quicken transition. Slow transitions and sitting back are the root of all evil (bet you didn't know that..) So, take a look at the video and see if you can ski like Mikey. (You'll need the MS Silverlight plug in to view the video.)http://www.dartfish.tv/Presenter.aspx?CR=p1490c3372m71994

Lazy? Watch this!!
OK - here's a video on one of our pet peeves when we watch good skiers bombing around the hill with their friends. Remember - you'll race like you train.

Steeps

Trees!

Bode Quote

These words are even more enlightening, given his last Olympic performance. (What role do you think attitude plays in your performance in racing, school, or life?)This was in New Hampshire Magazine, August 2008.

Recently, when asked what he’d most want to communicate to his legions of fans, especially the young ones, Bode’s surprising response had nothing to do with enjoyment, self-reliance or success.“The most important things in life are those moments when you do something purely because it’s the right thing to do, even if no one is watching. Those fleeting, dumb moments, those little choices you make every day — someone drops something and you pick it up for them, you help someone across the road — that’s when you have the opportunity to define your character. Most of the time there’s no payback but you do it anyway. It’s a process that builds self-confidence, at school, in sports and in life.”

"Happiness isn’t an excuse to slack; it’s an opportunity to be your best, to create a life’s work, to make your mark. If this is news to you, then it’s definitely time to ...do something extraordinary. Happiness awaits.”

“Somebody said later [after Bode lost a race] that I might as well have stayed home. That’s a bad attitude to take. We’d give up at a lot of things in life if we knew in advance how difficult they’d be, or how badly they’d turn out. But then we’d never excel at anything, or even learn much; we’d be a culture of half-asses and middling wannabes. So thank goodness we can’t see into the future. March on, I say. It’s our only option.”

Ever find yourself late or low in a course? Want to know how to fix it? Coach Bob put together this Powerpoint presentation to cover when, how, and where to turn in a course. Full of useful information and great pictures off of Ron LeMaster's site.

Here's why we do this

Phil Mahre recalls his 1984 gold medal and what it means to him to represent our country.

World Cup Highlights

You can go to Universal Sports to get replays of World Cup runs AND IT"S FREE!!! These are great to watch and visualize good technique.

While you are watching, check out the racers for technique.Athletic Stance
-- See how the weight is stacked over the center of the ski, with the hips and hands forward as they transition into a new turn.
-- Note the pole plants, especially in slalom skiing.

Parallel Position
-- See how they start their turns by flexing the ankle, then rolling the ankle and knees inwards.
-- See how their outside leg becomes long, and they pull up their inside knee at the turn apex (while keeping pressure on the outside ski). Then, watch how they transition their weight to the inside ski to finish the turn.

Keep watching until you can see each of the four moves and the two stances.

You perform retraction much like absorbing moguls. So, if you want to learn how to retract and stay forward, ski moguls more.

Tuning SchoolHere's a link to videos that show you how to wax your skis! Fast skis are made,
not purchased. From prepping new skis, to edge filing and polishing, to waxing,
overlays, and roto brushing - it's all here in video! So, get out the files, guides,
iron, wax and fiberlene and follow along.http://www.swixschool.com/web/index2.html

Want to be faster? Keep watching these videos. Try to reproduce the movements you see here in your skiing.
We'll cover each aspect in Holiday Camp and then spend the rest of our lives trying to perfect them. (Think I'm kididng? Ask your coach or parent.)

Phil McNichol Bio

A ski racer growing up in Washington, Connecticut, Phil McNichol turned to instruction and then coaching while a student at Northern Arizona University in the mid-1980s and quickly became one of the world's best.

Before becoming a United States Ski Team coach in 1997, McNichol led the Ski Club Vail and the Park City Ski teams. McNichol worked through all levels of the U.S. program before being named men's head coach for the 2003 season.

Head coach of U.S. Development Team (1997-2000), men's Europa Cup slalom/giant slalom (2000-2001) and men's Europa Cup (2001-2003)

Married to former World Cup skier Beth Madsen

Better Carving

So, you want to be a racer? Better be able to carve on anything. Here's how:

Pole Plants

Think pole plants are dead? Think again. You will see definite pole plants in Slalom races and "phantom" pole plants in GS and speed races. You will DEFINITELY need them in free skiing - steeps, trees, bumps. Here's learning the Bode way:

Dynamic Carving
Now that you have the basics, including a pole plant, you can work on advanced carved turns.

Richard Malmros, Speed 101The basics of speed sking for you SG junkies.http://www.rmmskiracing.org/article...01-Speed101.pdfKim Reichhelm - Driving into the turnComedian Steven Wright once said, "You know the feeling you get when you lean back
in a chair and almost fall, but catch yourself? I feel like that all the time." A good racing turn is like that. You must commit your upper body towards the gate, while your feet swim across the slope, out from underneath your body. You think you'll fall on your face, but the skis catch up and support you.